US envoy warns Washington could pull support as Israel unilaterally starts drawing map for West Bank annexations
rt.com | 2020-02-09
Unilateral action by Israel to annex land in the West Bank would endanger US support for a proposed blueprint for the region, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has said. | "Israel is subject to the completion [of] a mapping process by a joint Israeli-American committee. Any unilateral action in advance of the completion of the committee process endangers the Plan & American recognition," Friedman said, in a message posted on Twitter. | Israel is subject to the completion a mapping process by a joint Israeli-American committee. Any unilateral action in advance of the completion of the committee process end…
rt.com/news/480437-us-envoy-support-israel-annexation/

Netizens Enraptured by Saturday Night Live Sketch Mocking Democratic Debate in New Hampshire
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-09
From Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, it seems that Saturday Night Live has never overlooked any president or government official throughout its history. The show's creators frequently take jabs at President Donald Trump, but this time they apparently decided to focus on Democrats…
sputniknews.com/viral/202002091078267057-netizens-enraptured-by-saturday-night-live-sketch-mocking-democratic-debate-in-new-hampshire/

'Mein Trumpf': Netanyahu Reportedly Wants Gantz to Sack Aide Who Likened POTUS to Hitler
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-09
An aide to Benny Gantz has apologised for a controversy over a tweet from years ago. He stressed POTUS deserves to be hailed as "the most significant US president for Israel's security".
sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002091078265619-mein-trumpf-netanyahu-reportedly-wants-gantz-to-sack-aide-who-likened-potus-to-hitler/

Unilateral Israeli annexations would endanger US support: envoy
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-09
Unilateral Israeli steps to annex West Bank land would endanger U.S. support for such plans, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said on Sunday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday Israel had begun drawing up maps for annexing land in the West Bank, which Palestinians seek for a state, in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed peace plan."President Trump's Vision for Peace is the product of more than three years of close consultations among the President, PM Netanyahu and their respective senior staff," Friedman said on Twitter."Israel is subject to the completion (of) a…
yenisafak.com/en/world/unilateral-israeli-annexations-would-endanger-us-support-envoy-3511614

'Unhinged': MSNBC host Chris Matthews goes on bizarre rant about mass executions & 'the Reds' while discussing Bernie Sanders
rt.com | 2020-02-08
MSNBC host Chris Matthews is facing backlash on social media after he launched into a heated rant about socialism and appeared to suggest a Bernie Sanders presidency could somehow lead to mass executions in the streets. | During a post-debate special Friday evening, Matthews said his personal views on socialism go back "to the early 1950s" before drawing comparisons between Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and former leader of Cuba Fidel Castro. | "I believe if Castro and the Reds had won the Cold War there would have been executions in Central Park and I might have been one of the ones getting…
rt.com/usa/480412-chris-matthews-rant-sanders-socialism/

'Friday night massacre': Sondland follows Vindmans as Trump cleans house of 'traitors/heroes' following failed impeachment
rt.com | 2020-02-08
The recall of US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland seems to indicate that President Donald Trump is dismissing from service the officials who testified against him in the abortive impeachment proceedings. | "I was advised that the president intends to recall me effective immediately," Sondland said in a statement on Friday evening, adding he was grateful to Trump for the opportunity to head the US mission in Brussels. | Wow

China coronavirus death toll soars to 813 with 37,000+ cases worldwide
rt.com | 2020-02-08
China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of a lethal viral outbreak, reported 81 new deaths and a further 2,147 new cases of infection on Sunday morning, bringing the worldwide disease toll to over 37,000, with at least 813 fatalities. | The virus has spread worldwide to almost 30 countries. Governments have been scrambling to contain the epidemic, with multiple states banning direct flights from China. Strict quarantine regimes were implemented for citizens returning from the country. | As Beijing takes firm quarantine measures across dozens of cities, encompassing tens of millions of citizens, US President Dona…
rt.com/newsline/480415-china-hubei-coronavirus-death-toll/

El Salvador President Threatens Parliament to Obtain $109m Loan
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-08
El Salvador might face a constitutional crisis under President Nayib Bukele, as the head of state has threatened Parliament if lawmakers don't gather Sunday for an extraordinary session in order to approve a US$109 million loan. | RELATED: | 138 Deported From US to El Salvador Killed Since 2013: HRW | "They are constitutionally required to attend the extraordinary session," Bukele tweeted Friday citing article 167 of the Constitution, which can be used by the executive to call for a…
telesurenglish.net/news/El-Salvador-President-Threatens-Parliament-to-Obtain-109m-Loan-20200208-0008.html

Chris Matthews Slammed for Spreading Misinformation About Sanders' Democratic Socialist Agenda on Post-Debate Panel
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-08
MSNBC host Chris Matthews drew rebukes on social media Friday night after suggesting that as a Democratic Socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders could lead a dictatorship in which establishment political figures would be "executed," should he win the presidency. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-02-08_at_10.28.50_am.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/08/chris-matthews-slammed-spreading-misinformation-about-sanders-democratic-socialist?cd-origin=rss

Libya is Being Torn Apart By Outsiders
Vijay Prashad | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-07
With the United States walking out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)–more commonly known as the Iran accord–we all enter into a heightened zone of danger. Trump is threatening a war on Iran through his statements and tweets, and now by his actions, assassinating serving Iranian and Iraqi generals on Iraqi soil. Assassinations…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/07/libya-is-being-torn-apart-by-outsiders/

Who is Behind "Fake News"? Mainstream Media Use Fake Videos and Images
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-07
The mainstream corporate media is desperate. They want to suppress independent and alternative online media, which they categorize as "fake news". Readers on social media are warned not to go onto certain sites. Our analysis confirms that the mainstream media are routinely involved in distorting the facts and turning realities upside down.
globalresearch.ca/who-is-behind-fake-news-mainstream-media-use-fake-videos-and-images/5557580

Laurie Garrett: World Can't Let Racist Attitudes Impact Handling of Coronavirus Outbreak
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-07
The Chinese doctor who warned the government about a possible coronavirus outbreak has died after contracting the virus while working at Wuhan Central Hospital. Thirty-four-year-old ophthalmologist Li Wenliang warned his fellow medical workers about coronavirus on December 30. He was then investigated by police and accused of "making false comments." His death has sparked a wave of anger and outrage in China, where the hashtag "We want freedom of speech" went viral on Chinese social media site Weibo this week. The death toll from the coronavirus has now topped 630 people in China, with more than 31,000 confirmed…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/7/laurie_garrett_china_coronavirus_response

XXIX International Book Fair Inaugurated by Miguel Diaz-Canel
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Once more, Havana hosts XXIX International Book Fair, one of the most significant literary events of the region, inaugurated Thursday at Fort San Carlos de La Cabaña as usual, and that will last till February 16. | RELATED: | Chinese Doctors Are Using Cuban Antivirals Against Coronavirus | Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel attended the inauguration joined by Truong Thi Mai, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam, nation to which this edition of the fair is dedica…
telesurenglish.net/news/xxix-international-book-fair-inagurated-by-miguel-diaz-canel-20200207-0016.html

'Must have studied theology at Trump University': Donald Jr. schooled after trying for Pelosi diss with Bible reference
rt.com | 2020-02-06
Donald Trump Jr. got an unexpected Bible lesson when going after Nancy Pelosi with a Satan reference and learned that he didn't know the holy text well enough. | Don Jr. has plenty of reasons to insult Pelosi, but his latest diss didn't really hit the mark. | "Likelihood of Nancy Pelosi praying for Trump is about the same as the likelihood of Satan running around quoting the Scriptures," Trump Jr. tweeted in response to a video of his father at the National Prayer Breakfast criticizing people who "use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong." | Likelihood of Nancy Pelosi praying for Trum…
rt.com/usa/480264-donald-trump-jr-satan-pelosi/

Pelosi the paper (ripping) tiger: Pro-wrestling theatrics at SOTU fail to pull the wool in latest divide & conquer move
rt.com | 2020-02-05
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's speech-ripping performance at President Donald Trump's SOTU isn't fooling disaffected Democrats, who want a leader who actually stands up to the president, rather than #Resistance theatrics. | Pelosi's if-looks-could-kill glare and paper-tearing finale at the president's yearly address to Congress on Tuesday may have dominated the discussion on social media through the night, but for every blue-check cheering for "Nancy the Ripper," there was a jaded progressive wondering what happened to genuine opposition. | Democrats handed Trump a blank check to make war, a massive military bud…
rt.com/usa/480162-pelosi-ripper-theatrics-wrestling-fail/

Unleash the meme war! Pompeo mocks Pelosi's speech-tearing stunt with 'Simpsons' screenshot
rt.com | 2020-02-05
The grandstanding between President Trump and Speaker Pelosi during the State of the Union address has triggered an avalanche of memes online, with Mike Pompeo taking part among others. | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posted a 'Simpsons' meme showing a tearful Lisa Simpson tearing papers into shreds in season 3 of the popular series. | pic.twitter.com/AaopLt8f9f– Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) February 5, 2020 | The obvious dig at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who tore in half her…
rt.com/usa/480107-pompeo-mocks-pelosi-meme/

Coronavirus: UN health agency moves fast to tackle 'infodemic'; Guterres warns against stigmatization
news.un.org | 2020-02-04
The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken steps to ensure that the coronavirus epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives in central China does not spark a dangerous social media "infodemic" fuelled by false information.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056672

US government censorship? Social media giants disappear accounts of Iranian and Venezuelan academics, journalists
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-30
Red Lines host Anya Parampil talks with Professor Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran. Professor Marandi's Facebook and Instagram…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/30/social-media-giants-disappear-popular-iranian-venezuelan-accounts/